All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

This is collusion.  It's illegal.  Write a letter declining to participate.  Keep a copy of the letter for your records.

Register as a foreign entity in New York State and hire a registered agent.  You'll be good to go.

However, you might want to talk to a tax accountant about any state and local tax ramifications you might face in New York before you do that.

On the rentals, I have the PM replace the filter every 3 months.

I don't have air in my own home, but I replace the furnace filter more often than that in the Winter (I have dogs that shed).  It keeps my utility bill down.

I would agree the market is peaking.  Having lived in the same place for over twenty years, I'm seeing some really strange things going on.  Used to live at the "Josephine Apartments" on the south side of Evans and Josephine - they were converted to condos years ago.  I'm even seeing duplexes and tri-plexes being converted into "town homes".  Young professional couples are still in the price range but blue collar folks don't really have much of a place to go.  There was even another article this morning in the news on the topic.

Having grown up in Southern California, I think prices will decline - not to the level we saw in 2008, but I certainly think there will be an adjustment before wages catch up.

I think the area you're going to find the most value these days is Ruby Hill, Athmar Park, Overland Park, West Wash Park.  I live in Ruby Hill - many of us are frustrated with the new Levitt Addition.  Seems sound travels and even living 3/4 mile away from the park, if my windows are open, I can hear the concerts - 3 days a week for six months out of the year isn't something I'm looking forward to.  The city council is also going to vote this evening on allowing for a 5 year contract for Superfly Productions to take over Overland Golf Course for 5 weeks (think Coachella Music Festival).  This will also shut down the Aqua Golf on Florida and Santa Fe (they want to make it an area for Uber to drop people off for the concert).  Yay for those of us in the hood that have to live with this stuff (NOT).

Personally not happy with the decisions the city council is making...sadly, I'm not sure where to move because of prices to get out.  I'm thinking either Bailey or Wiggins but that's a pretty long commute to work in the Tech Center or Downtown (where I'm most likely to be employed).

My business consists of rental properties, flips (land), the licensing of intellectual property, and various investment type items (partnerships, tax liens, etc.).  I use Xero for all of those functions.

I do use a property manager and I don't integrate with property manager software, that being said, Xero has various "apps" that you can integrate with - whether it's specific to construction (I use project cost accounting) or to rental management.  For rental management, it looks like Re-Leased and Tradify are partners from a property management perspective.

I come from an accounting background (Tax Accountant with over 25 years experience) and have a lot of experience setting up systems (SAP, BAAN, ORACLE, PEOPLESOFT, etc.) and integrating them with Sales Tax Accounting systems (Vertex, Taxware, Sabrix, etc.) so I'm not the right person to ask if it's easy to setup.  For me, it was easy but I understand double entry accounting (many folks don't) so it's easier for me to spot when something isn't right.

I do have to "fool" the system with relation to booking reserves but I view that as a process item specific to me and how I do things.

@Paul Sian - they are called "Point of Sale Inspections" and are dependent on the city

Don't know if Cincinnati has the requirement but a lot of areas of Ohio do.  Here's a link to the list of the municipalities that do and don't require it in Ohio.  I've heard Cleveland Heights is pretty stringent on it.  Cincinnati isn't on the list.

@Amy A.  I've been looking into investing in Ohio and it's a very different place from a sales perspective.  My understanding (and I believe this is the same for Cincinnati) is that prior to the transfer of title, the seller is to have an inspection conducted by the city and any items that are not up to code must be repaired.  The alternative is the buyer can assume the responsibility with the agreement that repairs be completed within the statutorily allowed time frame (I think most are 6 months).  I've even been told by realtors that when the buyer takes on the responsibility, and they approach a contractor, the immediate response is a quote for work of $25,000 and to expect to add that to the price of the house.  This isn't something we have to deal with in most other areas of the country (though it's gaining in popularity).

It sounds to me that two things are going on - first, it sounds like you agreed to take on the responsibility of getting the house inspected and up to code, and second, you've got a nosy neighbor that's fanning the flames with the inspection process.

I would forget about the neighbor - it's just noise.  Focus on the signal - get a good working relationship going with the inspector, fix the items on the list, and get passed the inspection phase.  Once the inspector clears the house and the inspection requirement, then you're good to go.

@Ivan Lai - this is from the perspective of a guy that specializes in sales/use/property/excise/and occupational taxes (I've been doing this for over 25 years).

Generally, when a rental contract is written, the Tax Department and the Attorneys get together so they can create wording in the contract that allows any taxes charged to the business (CSC) to get passed on to the customer (you).

I've not worked with a company that rents laundry machines, but I've worked with a lot of companies that lease equipment - everything from vending machines to telecommunications equipment to a company where I currently work that leases credit card terminal type equipment.

Your profile indicates you have units in Southern California and in Houston.

I'm just guessing because I don't know specifics...

Los Angeles has a "Business Occupation Tax".  The city is extremely aggressive about going after businesses/taxpayers in the city.  There are other cities and counties in California that have the same.

The City of Houston has a Coin Operated Machine registration based on the number of machines which is separate from the Harris County coin operated machine registration/tax.  These things can be very time consuming/complicated.

It could be that CSC is trying to pass through their tax bill to you.  That's perfectly legal in a lease.  It could be that they were audited by the jurisdiction, had to pay the jurisdiction taxes owed and penalties, and from a business perspective, they are trying to pass that ongoing tax onto their customers.  It's very common for leasing companies to do this.

I know that's not something you want to hear/read, but it's a possibility that's what is happening and the person you spoke with on the phone doesn't understand it.

I like and use Xero.  Very happy with it.

@Anssi Viljanen  one thing that was a bit deceptive in his comments to you, while it used to be you could deduct interest on your primary residence even after refinancing  "every time you refinance you renew your new home owner status" that has changed.  You are limited to how much interest you can deduct on your taxes.  Here are the new interest rules.  While it's not likely you will hit that limit, it is something you should consider...

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Home acquisition debt limit. The total amount you (or your spouse if married filing a joint return) can treat as home acquisition debt at any time on your main home and second home cannot be more than $1 million ($500,000 if married filing separately). This limit is reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of your grandfathered debt (discussed later). Debt over this limit may qualify as home equity debt (also discussed later).

Refinanced home acquisition debt. Any secured debt you use to refinance home acquisition debt is treated as home acquisition debt. However, the new debt will qualify as home acquisition debt only up to the amount of the balance of the old mortgage principal just before the refinancing. Any additional debt not used to buy, build, or substantially improve a qualified home is not home acquisition debt, but may qualify as home equity debt (discussed later).

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